Sara Says

Growing Things/Plants Unit

Here are some books to go with your unit. The activities are listed below.

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle More about this book
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss More about this book
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons More about this book
How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan More about this book
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow by Joanna Cole More about this book
A Seed Grows : My First Look at a Plant's Life Cycle by Pamela Hickman More about this book
From Seed to Sunflower by Gerald Legg More about this book
Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown More about this book

The first Mystery Seed activity ties in perfectly with the book, Libby's Mystery Seed. If you can't get your hands on this book, the activities work fine without it. My students absolutely love the mystery seed part of this unit. It is ongoing, but the results happen quickly, which absolutely delights my students.

Age: Kindergarten-3rd Grade
Lesson: Mystery Seeds
Materials:

• Plant journals for each student. To make these just take 8 pieces of plain white paper and staple behind a cover that says "Plant Journal"
• Zip lock plastic bag for each student. A sandwich sized baggie works best
• Paper towels
• Sunflower seeds
• Clear plastic cups
• soil

1. Give each student the "mystery seed" (I don't tell the students what kind of seed it is). They date the first page of their plant journal and draw a picture of the seed. Demonstrate how to draw a to-scale model, details (such as the stripes on the seed), and a blown up close picture of the seed.
2. In the next page of their journal, the students can illustrate what they believe their mystery seed will grow into. Make sure they date each page. They love going back and reviewing their work and it is fun to chart the progress of the seed.
3. Students wet their paper towel. Make sure they are wrung out and just damp. They should not be dripping wet. Fold the paper towel, place it in the plastic bag, and put the seed on top of the paper towel. Once they seal the bag back up make sure the students understand that they cannot open the bag again.
4. Students journal their process.
5. After 1-2 days the students will notice a root appearing from their seed. This causes great excitement! They will probably bring up that they need to record this in their plant journal!
6. Continue to journal the progress for another 5-7 days. The roots grow really fast which is great incentive for the kids.
7. After the root has grown 3/4 inches the students are ready to plant their seed. I like to use the clear plastic cups so you can view the root. When the students are planting, make sure they put the root down and the seed pointing up.
8. The students will love lightly watering their seed everyday and journaling about what is happening.
9. They can take their mystery plants home and with a note to parents saying that they can plant them outside.

• Soil
• Grass seed
• Paper cups (the white Styrofoam ones work well)
• Water
• Markers or crayons
• Scissors

1. Give each student a Styrofoam cup. They decorate a face on the cup with crayons or markers.
2. Fill the cup with dirt and sprinkle grass seed on top.
3. Sprinkle a little more dirt
4. Water lightly and sit near a window
5. The students love as the grass begins to grow which creates "hair"
6. After a week or two send, give the Mr. Grassy Heads a haircut before sending them on their way home.